First Total Lunar Eclipse of 2014

Blood Moon Will Be A Sight To Behold During Total Lunar Eclipse – 14 April 2014

Blood Moon Will Be A Sight To Behold During Total Lunar Eclipse – 14 April 2014. Turn your gaze to the stars tonight for an eerie and spectacular view of the “blood moon.” At 12:53 a.m. ET, the Earth will begin to position itself between the sun and the moon for the first of a series of four total eclipses to conclude in September 2015. Stay up late (or get up early) for the blood moon eclipse. Sky watchers are getting ready for an evening of special viewing when a total lunar eclipse starts just after midnight on April 15. Sky watchers are getting ready for an evening of special viewing when a total lunar eclipse starts just after midnight on April 15. What’s more, this begins a rare sequence of four total lunar eclipses expected over the next two years. The one on April 15 will begin at 1:20 a.m. ET, according to Sky and Telescope magazine. Prophecy loves signs from the heavens, and they will deliver Tuesday with a moonlight spectacle.

What will happen could sound sort of like this: The moon will turn to blood as it aligns with Earth and sun, Then do so thrice more ere a year and a half is done, ‘Tis not the herald of the apocalypses, Just the first of four total lunar eclipses. In other words, get ready for an unusually beautiful moon to grace the night skies next week. There will be a total lunar eclipse Tuesday that will turn the moon a burnt reddish orange, NASA says. It’s called a blood moon, and this one is just the first in a series of four consecutive total eclipses. Within a year and a half, North America will be able to see a blood moon a total of four times. The moon takes on this color during the eclipse as it passes through the Earth’s shadow, which is the color of a desert sunset.

First Total Lunar Eclipse of 2014: The Complete Skywatcher’s Guide By Joe Rao, Space.com Skywatching Columnist

No enthusiastic skywatcher misses a total eclipse of the moon, and if weather permits tonight, neither should you.

The phases of the April 14-15 total lunar eclipse are shown with GMT timestamps in this NASA image from a video guide. The total lunar eclipse will affect two NASA spacecraft orbiting the moon since they rely on sunlight for power.

The spectacle is often more beautiful and interesting than one would think. During the time that the moon is entering into and later emerging from out of the Earth’s shadow, secondary phenomena may be overlooked. You can also watch the eclipse live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA, the Slooh community telescope and the Virtual Telescope Project.